Lowry's cricket match could top £1m at auction

The image, A Cricket Match, was painted by L S Lowry in 1938. It's quintessential Lowry scene of children playing on waste land in Broughton, Salford.

The last time it appeared on the market was in 1996, when it set a then world record for a Lowry work, and was sold at auction for £282,000.

But next month, the work will be auctioned again by Sotheby’s, with an estimate of £800,000 to £1.2m. First the painting will be on show for five days at The Lowry arts centre at Salford Quays, from May 23-27.

The display locally will be just before the start of the ICC Cricket World Cup, which will see six games hosted at Lancashire’s Old Trafford ground, including a semi-final.

The most expensive Lowry painting was Piccadilly Circus, which fetched £5.6m in 2011 but only £5.1m when sold again in 2014.